A Very Noragami Christmas
by MegaTurtle2011
Summary: Series of shorts about Yato, Hiyori, and their friends celebrating Christmas.
1. Mistletoe

It was Christmas Eve, and Kofuku had planned a dinner party. Unfortunately, so had Hiyori's parents, who had chosen the most boring dinner guests imaginable. Elderly Mrs. Kimura kept rambling about her grandson who was "only a little older than you, Hiyori dear." If that grandson really did as impossibly well at everything as Mrs. Kimura claimed he did, he must not have time to sleep, Hiyori thought. But she kept the thought to herself and kept smiling politely.

She was relieved when, as the meal ended, her mother turned her attention to Hiyori and said "You look tired, Hiyori. Maybe you should rest?"

"I _am_ tired," Hiyori said truthfully. Anyone would be tired after listening to the exploits of Seiji Kimura's chess club. Mrs. Kimura seemed to have memorized entire games . . . and to be under the impression that another high school student would want to hear the progress of those games, move by move.

So Hiyori pounced on her mother's suggestion, pretending to be exhausted by a day of studying. She said a graceful farewell to the Kimuras and left the room.

Instead of going to bed early, she snuck out of the house and hurried on her way to Kofuku's. Dinner there sounded lively: she could hear laughter and music all the way from the street. Hiyori's heart lightened and she skipped as she reached the door.

The door was opened by Yato, who might have had a little too much to drink. "Party's in the back," he said. "What took you so long?"

Hiyori opened her mouth to answer, and then paused, distracted by something dangling over her head. "What's that?" she asked, craning her neck.

"Kofuku's idea of a joke! That's mistletoe. Everyone who comes in through the door gets kissed. It was pretty funny when old Tenjin got here . . ."

"Kissed?" Hiyori interrupted. "You said everyone gets kiss. Does that mean someone's going to KISS me?"

"Of course . . ." Yato paused, and stumbled. His cheeks turned red. Was he blushing? Hiyori felt her cheeks starting to burn, too.

"We don't have to do it," she said. "It's just a joke." But Yato put down the beer in his hand and moved a step closer to her.

"Do you mind—" he started to ask.

But Hiyori never found out how he was going to finish the sentence. Kofuku came barreling into the entryway from gods-knew-where, shouting "Hiyorin!" She crashed into Hiyori and the two tumbled out the open door. And by the time Hiyori got to her feet and dusted herself off a little, the mistletoe had disappeared.

She thought she saw Tenjin tucking it carefully into one of his pockets, but she was probably mistaken. What could a god of learning want with mistletoe?


	2. Gingerbread Shrine

Yukine dropped by Hiyori's house, hoping for help with his homework. At least, that was his excuse. He mostly just wanted a chance to hang out with her and pretend that he was a normal middle school student.

But when he found Hiyori, she was already busy with a project in the kitchen. "What is that?" he asked. "Is that another shrine for Yato?"

"Another shrine?" Hiyori asked. Their eyes met, and they both started laughing at once.

"He's so full of himself since you gave him the first shrine," Yukine explained. "Imagine what he'd be like if you gave him a second one!"

"It's just a gingerbread house really," Hiyori said, "But," her face brightened, "What if I actually did make it into—"

"A gingerbread shrine!" Yukine interrupted. They laughed again. And then they sat down to actually do it. Yukine had never made a gingerbread house before. Not that he knew of, anyway. And it was pleasant to sit in Hiyori's kitchen and help her choose gumdrops and hard candies to decorate their shrine. This was much better than doing his homework.

When they were done, Yukine took it home. If Daikoku noticed that he was carrying something bulky, he made no comment. Yukine left the gingerbread house in the kitchen with a big note in Hiyori's handwriting that read "For Yato-gami."

Yukine couldn't wait to see the expression on Yato's face when he found the edible shrine. He fully intended to wake up early to see it. Unfortunately, he did not account for the effect of having stayed up late working on the shrine. He slept late, and though he raced to the kitchen, he was sure he would be too late to see Yato unwrap the gift.

He was right. He just didn't realize how MUCH too late he would be. And when he realized what had happened, he stared in openmouthed shock for a long moment.

"Somethin' wrong?" Yato mumbled through a mouth full of gingerbread.

"You ate it!"

"'Course I ate it! It was for me, wasn't it?"

"But you ate it ALL!"

"It was good!" Yato said. Then he belched.

"You ate it all _without me_!" To his embarrassment, there were tears prickling at his eyes. He and Hiyori had worked so hard on that house! He had been certain that Yato would want to display it until the gingerbread grew stale. He had never imagined that it would disappear overnight.

"I didn't want to wake you up," Yato explained. He stared at Yukine. "You'd better not be about to sting me again."

"Of course not," Yukine said in the coolest, calmest voice he could imagine. "Of course not. It doesn't bother me. It was your shrine. It was yours to do what you wanted with." And he tried his hardest to will that to be true. He didn't want to sting Yato.

"Shrine?" Yato said, puzzled. "What shrine? It was a gingerbread house."

"It was a gingerbread _shrine_ ," Yukine corrected. "Didn't you see the sign that said "Shrine: Yato"? I wrote it myself in frosting!" Although, now that he thought about it, it might have been a little hard to read. He didn't have much experience writing with frosting.

"Shrine?" Yato repeated.

And Yukine couldn't help himself. His sides began to shake with suppressed laughter. "It's only the second shrine anyone has ever made for you and you ATE IT!" Yato stared for a moment longer, and then he started laughing, too.

"That must have been why it was so tasty," he said. "It was sacri-licious! Come one, let's see if Hiyori will make me another one." And although Yukine thought the odds of that were slim, he went to watch his god plead for another gingerbread shrine.


	3. Let it Snow

**I. Yato**

The night of December 25 was a little stormier than usual, but only a little. There might be thousands of lonely people who were unhappy about being alone, but there were just as many happy couples dining out for the holiday. The phantoms were active, but not much more than usual.

So Yato and Yukine had an unexpected breather after battling a little patch of storm. The sky was clear; the night was cold; the stars were bright. It was the perfect night for a stroll, if there was anyone brave enough to handle the cold. Yato was only a little surprised when someone sprang down from a garden wall to land next to them and say "Merry Christmas!"

"Hiyori!" Yukine happily greeted her. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Hiyori replied, swinging her tail jauntily. Then she added, 'I'm surprised that gods even celebrate Christmas."

"Some do, some don't," Yato said with a shrug. "It's just another night to us, but it's a good excuse for a party." Then he cringed a little. Speaking of parties . . . he was pretty sure that he had said some embarrassing things at Kofuku's Christmas eve party, but he couldn't remember them.

"Aren't you going out tonight?" Yukine asked Hiyori. She shook her head.

"Not tonight, no. And my homework is done, so, I thought . . . I thought I'd see what you two were up too."

"Just the usual," Yato said. "Not much action now." He scanned the skies. No signs of more storms. It was a beautiful night.

"We oughta do SOMETHING," Yukine said. "I suppose we don't have enough money to go to a restaurant, huh?"

Yato dug his hands into his pockets, as if searching for money, but he already knew what he would find. Just a handful of coins. "Nope," he said, trying to be cheerful. "We could stop at a vending machine, though!"

"That's okay," Hiyori said. "I don't need to eat anything in this form anyway." And Yato wasn't even that hungry himself. But it still rankled. All over Tokyo, guys were taking their girlfriends out for dinner, and the only thing he could afford to buy for Hiyori was a candy bar. He kicked at a beer can angrily, watching it roll away. There must be something they could do!

"What else do people do on Christmas?" he wondered out loud.

"Parties? Dates? Snowball fights?" Hiyori suggested.

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Yukine asked.

"Let's have a snowball fight!"

 **II. Hiyori**

"A snowball fight?" Hiyori and Yukine exchanged startled glances. "But . . ." Hiyori began to protest, then she paused, not sure if Yato was joking.

Yukine said it bluntly: "There's no SNOW. We can't have a snowball fight if there's no snow."

"We'll FIND some snow!" Yato exclaimed. From the look on his face, you would have thought that this was the best idea he'd ever had.

Hiyori and Yukine exchanged confused looks again.

"It hasn't snowed at all this winter," Hiyori pointed out. "And there's no chance of snow tonight." She looked pointedly up at the clear winter sky. There was not a single cloud. "Maybe there's something else we could do?" She wondered if she should suggest going back to her place. They could make a snack and watch a movie.

But Yato was at his cockiest, and was not prepared to listen to reason. "I'm a god, aren't I?" Yato said, jamming his thumb into his chest as if pointing at himself. "Have a little confidence in me! I'll find a way for us to have a snowball fight."

"HOW?" Yukine demanded.

"I haven't worked out the details," Yato said airily, and he trotted off down the street.

"Umm, should we follow him?" Hiyori asked.

"Why bother? There's no way he can find snow in Tokyo tonight, god or no god," Yukine said. He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and turned around. "YOU can follow him, if you want to. I'm cold. Tell Mr. Snowman I'm going home." And he left.

Hiyori wavered, looking back and forth between her two friends. She was quite sure that Yukine was right, and there was no snow to be found. On the other hand . . . up ahead, Yato was singing "Jingle Bells" at the top of his lungs, and peering in random shop windows, as if he expected to see a display of snowballs. "If I don't go with him, he'll get into some kind of trouble," she muttered. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. Herself, perhaps? But she followed him anyway, knowing that he was crazy and they were never going to find any snow.

 **III. Kofuko**

Kofuku and Daikoku were settled snuggly under the kotatsu, sipping hot chocolate and watching television. There had been a plate of cookies on the table, too, but all that were left were the crumbs.

"Do you want something more to eat?" Daikoku asked. "I think there's still some of that gingerbread that Hiyori brought over the other day."

"No more sweets," Kofuku decided. "Something else might be nice. Popcorn, maybe? With the special seasonings?"

"You got it!" He stepped into the kitchen, leaving Kofuku to sip her hot chocolate by herself. Not for long, though – the front door opened with a bang.

"Hi guys!" Kofuku called out, assuming that Yato and Yukine had come back from their hunt a little early. Then she saw that she was only half right. Yukine was alone. "Where's Yatty?"

"He's out looking for snow."

"For snow?"

"So that he can have a snowball fight." Kofuku couldn't help it – she laughed out loud. After a minute, Yukine did, too. "Never a dull moment with that guy," Yukine concluded.

"It's too bad there's no snow for Yatty," Kofuku said. Then an idea struck her. She pulled her cell phone out and began digging through her contact list. By the time Daikoku came out with the popcorn, she had already sent her text.

"I know that smile," he told her. "Kofuku, what are you up to?" Her smile widened.

"Just a little favor from a friend." She munched a handful of popcorn, then clarified: "Sometimes it helps to know a weather god!"

 **IV. Yato**

"Look, there's snow in this window!" Yato peered into the window of a toy store that had been decorated for a traditional western Christmas. There was a Christmas tree, a toy train, and a tiny Christmas village. The whole thing rested on a tablecloth that was covered with something white and fluffy.

"That's fake snow," Hiyori said. Yato knew that she was right, but this was the closest they'd found to real snow all night.

"Maybe we could still make snowballs out of it?" he suggested.

"But we'd have to break into the store! That's wrong!"

"We wouldn't be stealing anything," Yato explained. But she was right, and he knew it, so he turned away from the decorated window. He hated to admit it, but it was really time to give up. He was cold, and he was sure that Hiyori must be bored, though she hadn't complained. "Sorry for wasting your time," he told her.

"That's okay," she said. "Look, I have some snacks at my place. Do you want to call Yukine and—"

"Wait, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"Did I imagine it?" Yato wondered out loud. It was possible. He'd been thinking about snow for so long, maybe he had just imagined that he felt something cold and wet touch his head. But no – "Look!"He pointed to an enormous fluffy flake of snow. "It's snowing!"

"It is?" Hiyori stared. She whirled around in a circle, watching as other flakes drifted down from a sky that was no longer clear. And then she smiled liked a kid at . . . well, at Christmas. "It is! Yato, it's snowing!" He grabbed her by the hands and they swung around in a circle, laughing.

"Snowy snowy snow!" Yato shouted.

"Fluffy puffy snow!" Hiyori replied. "Snow, snow, snow!" They chanted it together. They whooped and hollered and danced in the snow for gods knew how long. It was the most fun Yato had ever had on Christmas.

Then the largest, fluffiest flake ever landed right on the tip of Hiyori's nose as she stared up at the snow. Yato reached up to brush it off. Hiyori blushed and stepped back. They stared at each other uncertainly. Where, Yato wondered, was that mistletoe when you needed it?

He opened his mouth to say something –something that would no doubt be the wrong thing entirely—but what he was about to blurt out was cut short when a cold handful of snow crashed down on his head. "Ouch!" he yelped. It hadn't really hurt, but it had been icy. He whirled around and there, standing on a park bench with a smug look on his face, was Yukine. "Gotcha!" Yukki shouted.

"No fair!" Hiyori yelped. "We didn't even know you were there!"

But Yato was too busy scraping up a scant pile of snow to say anything. He rolled the snow into a ball, aimed it, and . . . missed. The snowball crashed harmlessly against the bench. "Is that your best shot?" Yukine taunted.

"No," Yato said. "Just you wait!" Yukine jumped off the bench and started running. Hiyori went galloping after him. Yato packed his snowball tightly, took aim, and this time, knocked Yukine's hat off.

It really was the best Christmas ever.

The End –

Author Note: Thanks for reading! (And please review. What worked? What didn't?)

This wraps up my Noragami Christmas. I know that "Let it Snow" was long enough that I could have published it as a separate story, but I felt it worked well as the conclusion of this group of stories. 


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